Meet the team

Warrington Parents & Carers Forum is a voluntary group of enthusiastic, dedicated and experienced parents and carers of children with disabilities and additional needs.

Jean Fitzpatrick Chair

I have been involve in SEN both professionally and personally for over 33 years. My personal experience involves bringing up my son who is ADHD/MLD and currently having full care his son, my 7 year old Grandson who has complex needs including ADHD/HF ASD/ODD. Professionally, for the past 25 years, I have worked as a teacher of SEN, working my way up to SENCO, eventually retiring a few years ago as Head of Inclusion. I joined the forum after my Grandson came to live with me as a way of "keeping my finger on the pulse". I also felt I had worked too hard to gain all this knowledge and experience not to do something with it and what better way to put it to good use! I am passionate about what I do and as the new Chair look forward to doing what's necessary, looking at what's possible and hopefully achieving the impossible through this Forum.

Gail HallVice Chair

I'm mum to Alex - my gorgeous sunshine - and Matthew who has severe epilepsy, learning difficulties, autism and the biggest smile you could ever hope to see.

I have been involved in parent participation for over 10 years, and spent a number of those as chair of WarrPAC. Whilst I have had to step down due to my son's increasing need, I remain committed to the work of the forum and, or course, to our new chair Jean.

In the early day of dealing with my son's condition, I felt very alone and bewildered by all that was going on. I did not know where to turn to for help, nor even what help actually existed. My hope is that by working with our professional partners that our families can access the help that they need, when they need it; that we can support each other to help our precious youngsters; that our experience can help to feed in to improve services for our families in the future and that working together we can get the best deal possible for our children and those who look after them.

To anyone thinking of getting more involved with WarrPAC - please do! My involvement has brought me in to contact with so many amazing people, and my life has been truly enriched as a result. I feel privileged to have made a difference to my son's life and to many others. You don't need to go all out and become a chair - just do what you're happy doing and I can promise you won't regret it!

Andrea Machin Parent Representative

Hi, I'm Andrea Machin. I have a gorgeous daughter who is 11 and has Complex Special Needs. Her main disabilities are Cerebral palsy, Epilepsy, Severe Visual Impairment and Global Developmental Delay. She goes to Green Lane School where I have the privilege of being a parent Governor.

I have been with Warrington Parents and Carers for 7 years and have seen many changes in that time. The one which stands out the most for me is the Warrington Play and Sensory Centre which I have been involved in right from the beginning.

I currently Chair the Play and Leisure Forum and also sit on the Stakeholder panel of the Warrington Play and Sensory Centre. I will be shortly joining the Woolston Inclusion Hub and representing Parent Carers on the Warrington Carers Partnership Board.

For anyone looking to join us, or volunteer, I would say just try it! We are a really friendly bunch and I have made some great friends along the way.

But....In order to keep doing what we do... we need families to tell us, good and bad, about the services they receive and experiences they've had.

It's only by sharing information that we can help each other to know what's out there and aim to help make Warrington a great place for our families to thrive.

Rebecca BichiouParent Rep / Treasurer

Hi, I'm Rebecca (Beccy!) and have been involved with WarrPAC for the last 5 years. I am also the treasurer of the group. My son, Adam, has ASD and I also have a daughter Ayah. I am passionate about the work we do at WarrPAC, and actually seeing things change for our families.

Sharon WilsonDevelopment Officer

Hi, I'm Sharon. I am mum to my two precious daughters, Maisie whose 5 and Poppy aged 21 months. I have been involved with SEN personally when Maisie was just 2 years old and came into the system with a very descriptive educational psychologist report. This was the start of my journey as a parent of a child with special educational needs. Maisie is still under assessment at the CDC and in the beginning of this journey I found myself feeling very alone, unsure of the process that was about to happen, the minefield of appointments and the impact it would have on us as a family. In May this year I joined Warrington Parents and Carers as a volunteer to help other families from feeling so isolated and hope that they find our forum a place to come to to share their views and issues to make a positive difference for the future of all children with SEN. In September I took up post as the Development Officer within the forum and am excited to continue to drive forward and support the group to have a voice for all parents and carers of our amazing children in Warrington.

Sarah CooperFamily Engagement Team Leader

Hi, I’m Sarah, Mum to my beautiful ( if a tiny bit crazy) 7 year old twin daughters Faye & Lydia. Lydia has a whole host of complex medical, cognitive and physical needs, or quirks as we like to call them. She is diagnosed with Cerebral palsy, Hydrocephalus and Global developmental delay amongst others.

I was first thrust very unexpectedly into the world of SEND when Lydia took very poorly after their premature birth back in 2011. During a very challenging 6 months stay, and after several operations on Alder Hey’s Neurosurgery ward, it soon became apparent that Lydia was going to be taking us on that flight to “Holland” I came down to earth with a bump, and I vowed there and then that I had to help make something change so that other families didn’t have to struggle unnecessarily before and after diagnosis, like we had. After various voluntary roles in Alder Hey I was approached by WarrPAC who asked me to join the steering group as a parent Rep, an opportunity I jumped at! I am now entering my second year and absolutely love helping WarrPAC make a difference for all the SEND families in Warrington! I’d encourage anyone with a passion for families like ours to come and get involved like I have even if it’s only an hour you can spare !

Laura ForsterFamily Engagement Team

I’m Laura, I’m mum to three children Luke, Hannah and Pippa. My youngest daughter Pippa had a difficult start with extensive health problems and underwent heart surgery at 5 weeks old. Pippa went on to begin mainstream school but it quickly became apparent that her difficulties were more complex and also effected her learning and cognitive ability.

Pip was subsequently diagnosed with cerebral visual impairment, social and communication problems and sensory processing difficulties. In fact we were offered endless different labels before a medical trial eventually led us to a rare genetic diagnosis called Kabuki syndrome. I found myself in a whole new world of paperwork and professionals who all had something to say about what my daughter could or couldn’t do. I felt very lost and out of my depth trying to make decisions about which school or provision she should attend.

I eventually came across WarrPAC, the help and advice they provided was invaluable and the families and networks I connected with through them helped me to gain strength and knowledge to enable me to support Pippa. I decided to volunteer and hope as part of WarrPAC I can try to help other families who are going through similar experiences